Is Audi's Handsome RS5 Beginning To Show It's Age?

The coupe still looks better than most anything on the road. I've never been a fan of the convertible versions of the A5/S5 and now the RS5.

I say no. Still stunning. Especially with LED light update.

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This idiot writer has no clue what he's talking about:

"It’s hard to believe the next generation of its midsize convertible won’t have a better system, but that car will have its hands full topping the RS5’s style, grace and performance."

Yes, the next generation A4/A5 will have a new and totally re-designed MMI system. This foolish writers actually thinks Audi would release a brand new model while still offering a center console from the same model that was introduced seven years ago.

Clip: Audi RS5 Cabriolet driving scenes on a winding road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ7wLuldUDU

Obviously the German car experts consider the Audi RS5 still in its prime years.

That's why the largest German car magazine Autobild tested the cheaper $69,000 Audi RS5 against the more expensive $90,000 BMW 650i coupe. The RS5 won, lol! "The RS had more horsepower, but consumed only a sip more fuel, was considerably sportier and had almost the same utility, even though it was about 10 000 euros cheaper. This Audi victory is clear: With its hot-blooded high revving V8 it is not only the clearly more dynamic car, but it ignites the great coupe feeling better than the cool BMW."
http://tinyurl.com/oynmq4c

A few months ago, Horst von Saurma -- the famed supercar tester and expert Nurburgring driver -- concluded that the technological improvements to the facelifted RS5 enhances its the worthy image as a current DTM racing car, as proven by his supertest on the Nurburgring race track (Nordschleife).
http://tinyurl.com/bp6mbaq

In the German car mag Autozeitung's comparison test, the Audi RS5 Coupe beat the Mercedes C 63 AMG Coupe Edition 507.
http://tinyurl.com/m45yvmr

Autozeitung tested the facelifted RS5 Cabriolet and concluded: "The new RS 5 Cabriolet with its high-revving V8 is a fine piece of automotive technology and, if necessary, a thoroughbred sports engine. This Audi has not neglected the practical qualities and the convertible is fully suitable for everyday use. With the RS 5 you can go to the office every morning or for holidays without problems - if you can afford it."
http://tinyurl.com/c9bcqp8

Mercedes: So you think you're smarter and more experienced than the author Joerg Maltzan, who is an editor at Autobild (the largest German car magazine that together with its worldwide licensed editions sell over 7 million copies every month -- making it probably the world's largest car group-publication).

You may think it's two totally different cars. But Joerg Maltzan has driven and tested exponentially more luxury cars and coupes than you have, and feels there are good reasons to compare both cars. Why would Maltzan compare the $69,000 RS5 against a $110,000 M6 coupe, when that's not his point?

"A truly sporty 6-Series, i.e. the M6 would smoke a RS5"?
What are you smoking? Fact: No M6 Coupe has beaten the RS5 at the Nurburgring track. The RS5 twice broke the 8 minute barrier. If the current M6 Coupe managed to break the 8 minute barrier, its time would have been registerd. And the RS5 has been faster than the M6 on other tracks.
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/nordschleife.html
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/virginia_international_raceway.html
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/autozeitung_test_track.html

"If the current M6 Coupe managed to break the 8 minute barrier, its time would have been registerd."

Haha what you try to pass as logic is comical...the M5 lapped the ring in 7:55, and you can bet the lower, wider, lighter M6 will be quicker.

"And the RS5 has been faster than the M6 on other tracks."

Your forgot the Sportauto.de test, and of course who would know more about German cars than the Germans as you say, lol.

The M6 lapped Hockenheim 1.1 seconds faster than the RS5.

http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/test-bmw-m6-coupe-gegen-porsche-911-carrera-wie-viel-sportwagen-braucht-der-mensch-5998089.html?show=2

Also there are some recent sportauto tests you maybe forgot to post.

M5 was won against the Panamera Turbo S, and E63amg

http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/test-bmw-m5-mercedes-e63-amg-porsche-panamera-turbos-wie-sportlich-sind-die-v8-limousinen-4806486.html

And the BMW 335 beat the S4 by winning the comparison test.

http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/test-bmw-m5-mercedes-e63-amg-porsche-panamera-turbos-wie-sportlich-sind-die-v8-limousinen-4806486.html

Full disclosure the Porsche, and Audi were faster around Hockenheim, but the BMW's posted faster slalom speeds, along with other performance measures, and ended up scoring MORE overall points against the Porsche and Audi. Kind of like how the slower around a track S6 "beat" the M5 in the C&D comparison you swear by.

Also the refreshed 5 series just beat the A6 and E class in this new Autobild comparison.

http://www.autobild.de/artikel/audi-a6-bmw-5er-mercedes-e-klasse-test-4268845.html

AndI know you don't think your smarter and more experienced than the author Stefan Voswinkel, who is an editor at Autobild (the largest German car magazine that together with its worldwide licensed editions sell over 7 million copies every month -- making it probably the world's largest car group-publication).


This should be good...

Heres the 335 vs S4 link.

http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/audi-s4-gegen-bmw-335i-im-vergleichstest-bayern-sportler-im-ring-duell-4982919.html?show=3

and the RS5 lap by the fabled Horst von Saurma.

http://www.sportauto.de/supertest/supertest-audi-rs5-coupe-wuerdiges-abbild-des-dtm-renners-4983032.html?show=2

Heres the 335 vs S4 link.

http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/audi-s4-gegen-bmw-335i-im-vergleichstest-bayern-sportler-im-ring-duell-4982919.html?show=3

and the RS5 lap by the fabled Horst von Saurma.

http://www.sportauto.de/supertest/supertest-audi-rs5-coupe-wuerdiges-abbild-des-dtm-renners-4983032.html?show=2

bmwm6, try to contain your excitement until I respond to the rest of your comments on Saturday. Unfortunately I'm watching a golf tournament the entire day tomorrow so you'll have to wait until Saturday for my reply.

bmwm6: "The M6 lapped Hockenheim 1.1 seconds faster than the RS5".
Your misinformation and 'math' never fails to amuse me. The M6 Coupe (1:13.20) was only a marginal 0.8 sec faster than the RS5 (1:14.00). Better re-check all your numbers before I return on Saturday...
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/hockenheim_short.html

bmwm6: "Haha what you try to pass as logic is comical...the M5 lapped the ring in 7:55, and you can bet the lower, wider, lighter M6 will be quicker."
Hahahaha, your straight face is even more comical.
If what you claim is true, how come the BMW M5 (1:12.90) was faster than the M6 Coupe (1:13.20)???
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/hockenheim_short.html

Nurburgring is the primary proving ground for every performance car of BMW, Audi, MB, etc . There is no doubt that the M6 Coupe made at least one (if not several) attempts at Nurburgring. If an M6 had managed to break the 8 minute barrier, especially if it had beaten the M5's time, it would have been posted. Several high-performance cars (e.g., Bugatti Veyron) declined to register their laptimes at Nurburgring after achieving less than expected results. I guess we'll have to wait for a Horst von Saurma supertest to force the M6 Coupe's time to be posted.

Wait a minute, did I not see two M3 with Competition Package on this Hockenheim list... one M3 (1:14.20) was still slower than the Audi RS5 (1:14.00) and the other M3 (1:14.00) tied with the RS5. It seems like your M3 with Competition Package has been struggling to beat the RS5, with no success. :)

In the meantime, are you sure that's the only sportauto test involving the S4? You should rely on Horst von Saurma, not the reviews of Anja Wassertheurer or Jens Dralle :)

Anja is a BMW junkie. she tested the slower pre-facelifted S4 against the previous 335i (see link). She managed to drive a slower S4 (acceleration, slalom) 0.2 second faster at Hockenheim and brake 2.7m shorter with the old brakes -- if Anja had driven the facelifted S4 to it's capabilities, the S4 would have tied or beaten the 335.
http://www.sportauto.de/vergleichstest/bmw-335i-gegen-audi-s4-mittelklassen-sechszylinder-im-duell-1037101.html?show=3

Funny you didn't mention your BMW-biased Motor Trend mag which avoids comparison testing the current BMW 335i against the outgoing Audi S4 for obvious reasons. The S4 beats the 335i in every objective performance measure: faster on the winding Motor Trend Figure 8 course, faster acceleration to 60 mph, faster to the quarter mile, better lateral acceleration, better breaking, etc.

- 2013 Audi S4: MT test
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1307_2013_audi_s4_first_test/

- 2012 BMW 335i: MT test
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1202_2012_bmw_335i_first_te

In the meantime, funny you didn't mention your BMW-biased Motor Trend mag which avoids comparison testing the current BMW 335i against the outgoing Audi S4 for obvious reasons. The S4 beats the 335i in every objective performance measure: faster on the winding Motor Trend Figure 8 course, faster acceleration to 60 mph, faster to the quarter mile, better lateral acceleration, better breaking, etc.

- 2013 Audi S4: MT test
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1307_2013_audi_s4_first_test/

- 2012 BMW 335i: MT test
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1202_2012_bmw_335i_first_test/

In the only track both cars lapped (hockenheim), the Audi S4 (1:16.46) was faster than the BMW 335i (1:17.80) -- 1.34 sec is a huge gap on a short course... wasn't it you who taught me that?
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/hockenheim_short.html

Ok, that's all the time I have for you now... don;t forget to return on Saturday for my reply :)

bmwm6, you should know that tThe ultimate proving ground for cars is Nurburgring, not other tracks -- because Nurbugring is about 7 to 9 times longer, is tougher and more demanding than other tracks.


bmwm6: "Your forgot the Sportauto.de test, and of course who would know more about German cars than the Germans as you say, lol."
What you do not tell us is that your Sportauto test (Anja Wassertheurer) chose the most basic, cheapest Porsche 911 to challenge the M6 Coupe: the 123,600 Euro, 560 HP Euro BMW M6 Coupe was compared against the 88,037 Euro, 350 HP Porsche 911 Carrera. Despite this, the base Porsche 911 was faster than the M6 around the Hockenheim track and in the slalom (even though the Porsche was 1 second slower accelerating to 100 km/h). The Porsche lost the test only because of Sportauto's HP-to-weight, value-for-money and acceleration to 100 km/h measures -- had Sport Auto chosen any other better Porsche 911 (Carrera S or 4S are both cheaper than the M6.... or GTS, Turbo, Turbo S) -- the M6 Coupe would have been outgunned even more.

On the other hand, Autobild did not chose a base Porsche Panamera (or even Panamera 4S) to challenge the Audi S7... Autobild chose the Panamera GTS (116,700 Euro) to challenge the S7 (79,900 Euro).
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/audi-s7-sportback-gegen-porsche-panamera-gts-3430056.html


bmwm6: "there are some recent sportauto tests you maybe forgot to post... M5 was won against the Panamera Turbo S, and E63amg... And the BMW 335 beat the S4 by winning the comparison test."
How disingenuous can you be -- it's your job to post evidence that supports your personal opinions. It's my job to tell the truth.
I've already showed how Sport Auto's Anja Wassertheurer comparison test of BMW 335 and Audi S4 has red flags.
Now let's put on out brains again to analyze the M5-Panamera-E63AMG test, shall we? Yes, Anja Wassertheurer gave her belowed BMW M5 (47 points) and the Porsche Panamera Turbo S (46 points) -- but that's only because of the 5 points the BMW scored on value for money (M5 scored 8 points, Porsche Panamera 3 points). The Porsche Panamera is a 125 kg heavier, bigger, all-wheel-drive sportback -- yet it beat the lighter, smaller rear-wheel drive M5 sedan by one second at the short Hockenheim track. Furthermore, it's incredible that Anja Wassertheurer drove the plain Porsche Panamera Turbo (NOT S) to a slalom of 67.6 km/h in an earlier individual test but does the same slalom in only 65.0 km/h with the faster Turbo S -- how fishy is this?

Horst von Saurma drove the Porsche Panamera Turbo S in 7:52 min at Nurburgring, which is 13 seconds faster than von Saurma drove the BMW M5 in 8:05 min in summer 2012. The 7:55 min for the M5 at Nurburgring listed at fastestlaps.com was done by a BMW factory driver, not an independent driver like Horst von Saurma (who drove the M5 in 8:05 min). In his supertests, von Saurma scored the M5 only 7 marks out of 10 for how it performed on the Nurburgring t

Horst von Saurma drove the Porsche Panamera Turbo S in 7:52 min at Nurburgring, which is 13 seconds faster than von Saurma drove the BMW M5 in 8:05 min in summer 2012. The 7:55 min for the M5 at Nurburgring listed at fastestlaps.com was done by a BMW factory driver, not an independent driver like Horst von Saurma (who drove the M5 in 8:05 min). In his supertests, von Saurma scored the M5 only 7 marks out of 10 for how it performed on the Nurburgring test but he gave 8 marks to the RS5. Imagine if Audi factory drivers posted their times on the RS5, instead of von Saurma's 7:59 min... or if Porsche factory drivers posted their times on the Porsche Panamera Turbo S instead of von Saurma's 7:52 min.
http://tinyurl.com/o35ysh2

In winter 2012 individual test, Anja Wassertheurer drives the Mercedes E 63 AMG with Performance Package in 1:14 min at Hockenheim and did the slalom in 66.7 km/h (better than the M5). Yet in Spring 2012 comparison test with her beloved BMW, her performance in the Mercedes E 63 AMG with Performance Package worsens to 1:14.6 at Hockenheim and slalom is only in 64.9 km/h. Had she performed better on the slalom with the Mercedes, she would have been faster than the M5 -- the test results would have been tied (3 point swing).
http://tinyurl.com/nhpgly9

I know a cherry picker like you likes only those tests/reviews by ANY reviewer who says what you want to hear -- you don't even bother to check the qualifications of the reviewer. But I am more discriminating. I trust Sportauto's Horst von Saurma because he is a well-respected, trusted and experienced supercar tester and Nurburgring/Hockenheim expert who usually achieves the fastest laptimes for the cars he tests (unless the tests were done in cold weather).

On the other hand, Sportauto's Anja Wassertheurer -- whether out of bias or incompetence -- tends to drive Audis and Mercedes slower then she drives BMWs in comparison tests at Hockenheim track.
http://tinyurl.com/qhncybm
- in summer 2010 (hot), she drove the BMW M3 (with DKG transmission) in 1:14.2 min. In Fall 2007 (cool), Horst von Saurma drove the M3 (6-speed manual) in 1:14.3 min.
http://tinyurl.com/pzh7p3h
- in summer 2010 (hot), she drove the Audi RS5 in 1:15.3 min. In Spring 2012 (cool), Horst von Saurma drove the RS5 in 1:14.3 min.
http://tinyurl.com/cvbj9uv

bmwm6: "Kind of like how the slower around a track S6 "beat" the M5 in the C&D comparison you swear by."
This will be good...

You're making a big deal out about the one track where the Audi S6 was lapped (Virginia Raceway, USA)... but the hilarious thing is that you are swearing by C&D, lol. You obviously have no idea of what you're talking about.
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/virginia_international_raceway.html

Both the laptimes of the S6 and M5 were done on the Virginia Raceway using two different drivers at different times of the day (see links)... and here's the best part... both laptimes were done by CAR and Driver magazine. C&D's technical editor drove the M5 while C&D's executive editor Aaron Robinson drove the S6 (he also wrote the C&D article linked in the next paragraph). You should play both videos side-by-side simultaneously with the sound off to watch what's happening. Afetr that, play each video separately with sound back on to listen to the tester's commentary. [Obviously, if Horst von Saurma drove both cars, it would be one consistent driver extracting the maximum from both cars].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srqs5_aySg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vli2Cd3Ux0

After testing both cars in various driving and testing situations, the Car and Driver team ranked the Audi S6 first, the Mercedes E 63 AMG second, and the BMW M5 last. Aaron Robinson has written almost 500 articles for Car and Driver, including numerous tests. He didn't pick the S6 out of a hat.
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/2013-audi-s6-vs-2013-bmw-m5-2012-mercedes-benz-e63-amg-1.pdf
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/2013-audi-s6-vs-2013-bmw-m5-2012-mercedes-benz-e63-amg-comparison-test

Here's C&D's first drive review of the Audi RS7... enjoy!
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-audi-rs7-sportback-first-drive-review

bmwm6: "Also the refreshed 5 series just beat the A6 and E class in this new Autobild comparison... And I know you don't think your smarter and more experienced than the author Stefan Voswinkel, who is an editor at Autobild (the largest German car magazine that together with its worldwide licensed editions sell over 7 million copies every month -- making it probably the world's largest car group-publication). This should be good..."

Of course Voswinkel is smarter and more experienced than me on cars. 'Humility' is my first middle name... but 'Big Picture' is my second middle name.
You really should read the article more carefully (perhaps your idea of "full disclosure" is not to tell us :)
This article compared the diesel engine versions of the 5 series (530d), A6 (3.0 TDI) and E Class (E 350 BlueTec) sold in Europe, not the petrol versions that vast majority of North Americans drive. For example, the Autobild writer preferred the 530d's quieter diesel engine to the growling sound and vibration of the diesel engine in the A6 TDI.
Regardless, when the Audi A6 is facelifted and improved next year, the BMW can kiss its temporary lead goodbye again :)
Unlike your Autobild article, my Autobild article compared the petrol RS5 and BMW 650i sold in North America.

Was this good enough for you?

By the way, in the latest Auto Motor und Sport comparo between petrol engines, this German car mag gave first place to Audi A6 3.0 TFSI (511 points), second place to Mercedes-Benz E 400 (497 points) and third place to 3.0 V6 Jaguar XF (449 points). Not sure why AMuS did not include the recently facelift 5 series.
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/vergleichstest/audi-a6-30-tfsi-jaguar-xf-30-v6-und-mercedes-e-400-business-class-mit-v6-benziner-power-7252487.html

I feel the best looking A5 was the 2012 model year. Stunningly beautiful. To MY eyes, this year's model has more generic-looking sheetmetal, and overly-stylized headlights. The A5 no longer "speaks" to me :-(

I think the 2013-2014 Audi RS5 is one of the best looking Sports Car Coupe out there. The ONLY Audi that I would love to own and drive are the 2013-2014 Audi RS5 and R8 V10 : )

Good Design endures. Audi is at the pinnacle of good design, nuf said :)

I love the A5/S5/RS5, they are beautiful and elegant. The car is a complete design from every angle, unlike most of it's stablemates which are all about the grill and front end and nothing else. The A5/S5/RS5 is the Cary Grant of Auto's.

hardly see any rs5's on the road, so its gona be a while till the styling gets old. i think its going to be one of those cars thats always desired ( like the 1m )